COQUILLE — A man accused in the death of a Charleston resident pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter during a plea-change hearing at the Coos County Courthouse.

Judge Michael Gillespie sentenced Benito Rincon-Flores, 33, on Thursday afternoon, to 10 years in prison for the August 10, 2006, shooting death of Harvey Davis, a local fisherman and mushroom picker. Rincon-Flores also will serve two days on an unrelated charge of driving under the influence of intoxicants and his driver’s license has been permanently suspended.

Dressed in a navy blue Coos County jail jumpsuit, his hands and legs shackled, Rincon-Flores appeared somber, often looking toward the ground as interpreter Martha Molitor relayed the judge’s words to him in Spanish.

A San Jose Resident, Rincon-Flores originally was charged Feb. 8 with the murder of Davis. Rincon-Flores shot Davis repeatedly with a pistol and buried him in a shallow grave in the Coos County Forest near Ted Ellingson Road, about five miles from where Rincon-Flores and Davis had been living on the same property. Coos County Sheriff’s deputies discovered Davis’ body on Aug. 12, 2006, when an informant led them to the corpse.

Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said he worked out a plea deal with defense attorney Daniel Koenig because he did not have a strong case for murder, because the crime scene had been tampered with, he lacked witnesses and police were unable to obtain the murder weapon.

Following his 10-year-sentence, Rincon-Flores is required to spend three years in post-prison supervision. However, because he is believed to be a citizen of Mexico, he likely will be deported once he’s released.